After 150 years, the Buckhout-Jones Building in downtown Oswego is still a center of business activity. But its claim to fame rests with two of its earliest entrepreneurs. The three-story building at West First and Bridge streets is on both the National Register of Historic Places and the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

Gary Walts / The Post-StandardAnthony Pauldine now owns the Buckhout-White Building at West Bridge and West First streets in Oswego. The building, built between 1852 and 1854, once housed barbershops run by two runaway slaves.

Built between 1852 and 1854, the building, a mix of gothic, Queen Anne and mansard architectural details, housed barbershops run by two fugitives from slavery.

Charles Smith ran his business in the basement from 1854 until his death in 1882 at 70. Tudor Grant opened his shop in 1857. Both men were born into slavery in Maryland and later escaped and settled in Oswego.Grant was a noted abolitionist and is believed to have helped other slaves escape to Canada, possibly using his shop near the harbor.

In addition, the building's white owners, Abram Buckhout and Hamilton Littlefield, also were known for their abolitionist activities.

"It's a great building and should have been on the register a long time ago, " said Judith Wellman, a former history professor and director of Historical New York Research. She said its connection to the abolitionist businessmen of both races helped secure its spot on the National Register.

"The Underground Railroad was a collaboration between blacks and whites, and this building reflects that partnership, " she said.

"It's unique because you don't think of fugitive slaves as businessmen who owned property and homes, " said Helen Breitbeck, a member of the Oswego County Freedom Trail Commission who helped research the building's history. The building has housed a succession of businesses, including clothing stores, brewers, beauticians and law, dental and insurance offices. Today, the building is home to King Arthur's Steak House and Brew Pub.

Developer and owner Anthony Pauldine said the building's unique looks, location and history attracted his attention.

"Oswego didn't have a real steak house and there was brewery equipment on site from a former owner, " he said. "The architecture reminded me of castles in Europe, and I'd married an English girl ... that's how we came up with the English medieval restaurant theme."

Pauldine opened the restaurant in July 2002, shortly after it was named to the National Register. It also houses banquet facilities on the second floor and luxury suites on the third.

Location of Buckhout-Jones Building.

He said he didn't find any artifacts relating to its possible use as an Underground Railroad site, but some unusual occurrences have him wondering about the building's past.

"We think we have a ghost, " he said. "People (staying in the suites) swear they've heard voices and people walking across the ceiling. One fellow was looking for a stairway to the fourth floor."

The building once had a fourth floor, but a fire in 1876 changed the roof line. Talk of ghosts was news to Wellman."Haunted or not, it's a great building, " she said.

This story is part of The Post-Standard's 2005 observance of Black History Month. The series, "Stops on the Road to Freedom," tells a story a day about sites and people in Central New York that played a significant role in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad. Last year: The Post-Standard series, On the Front Lines of History, told a story a day about local blacks' military service.